Knee and foot support



Aug. 28, 1951 R. o. FERGUSON KNEE AND FOOT SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb: 15, 1949 INVENTOR.

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Aug. 28, 1951 R. o. FERGUSON KNEE AND FOOT SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Feb. 15, 1949 R0 65; 0.'Fe

Patented Aug. 28, 1951 KNEE AND FOOT SUPPORT Robert O. Ferguson,Bristol, Tenn., assignor of one-half to Bristol Steel and Iron Works,Inc., Bristol, Va.,. a corporation of Virginia Application February 15,1949, Serial No. 76,635

Claims.

There are certain classes of work, such as house painting, cleaningfloors, which require that the workman spend considerable time in akneeling position and, due to the fact that the toe of the foot receivesconsiderable weight of the workman, the foot becomes cramped andrequires the workman to shift his position or to stand up for a whilebefore resuming his work in the kneeling position. The purpose of thisinvention is to provide an improved support for the workman, theinvention having the following objects among others:

A knee and foot support having an improved leg construction.

A knee and foot support which provides improved protection for the kneeof the user.

A knee and foot support provided with a knee protector which isadjustable whereby to adjust the overall length of the support.

A knee and foot support having a leg which is frictionally held to theshank of the support whereby the leg may be folded toan inoperativeposition in order that a plurality of such knee and foot supports may benested for shipment from the manufacturer to retail outlets.

A knee and foot support which may be cheaply manufactured in quantityand which may be economically constructed of sheet metal, wood, plasticor other materials.

Other objects may be found hereinafter in the specification and claims.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form ofthe invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the knee protector showingparticularly the construction for readily attaching the same in adjustedposition on the shank;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another form of the invention showingthe position the support will assume when used in a kneeling position;

Figs. 4 and 5 are plan views of two forms of the legs which are attachedto the shank of the foot support to maintain the wearers foot, whenkneeling, in proper position; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figure 1 thereof, referencenumeral I0 indicates a shank that is of concave-convex construction andwhich is preferably constructed of a single piece of material. Thisshank is of suflicient length so as to extend from the lower part of theankle to a point below the knee cap of the wearer. The shank is providedwith tabs extending rearwardly on both sides, and these tabs arepreferably provided with slots I2 for the reception of straps I3 thatmay have buckles I I in order to adjust the strap to the wearers use.

As viewed in Fig. l. the lower portion of the shank III is provided witha pair of legs I5 which are preferably constructed of suitable materialsuch as metal or reinforced plastic or any other suitable material. Eachleg is provided with bifurcations I6 for strengthening purposes and,adjacent the ends of the bifurcations, suitable means, such as rivetsll, are used to attach the bifurcations to each curved side of theshank.

The opposite ends of the legs are provided with feet I8 having flattenedsoles I9 for resting upon a surface, such as a floor.

The upper portion of the shank, as viewed in Fig. 2, has a pair ofplates or guides 2|, 2|, whichare secured thereto by rivets 22, as shownin the drawings. The plates may be attached by other suitable means, notshown, such as by brazing, welding, etc. It is, of course, within thelimits of the present invention to form the plates and shanks by asingle casting. The plates 26, 2|, are provided with raised portions 23,24, which provide a passageway for the tongue 25 of the knee protector26. The tongue is pro-' vided with an elongated slot 21 and the shankhas an aperture 28 through which extends a bolt 29f which has threadedon it a nut 30. The slots 2:! may have a counter-bore 3|, as seen inFig. 2. The knee protector 26 may be adjusted by this construction foruse by different workmen.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and2, except that a different form of leg is employed. This leg is,illustrated in detail in Fig. 5.

The shank is shown at 32 and is provided with a bolt 33 corresponding tothe bolt 29 of Fig. 6, and the structure is otherwise the same as thestructure shown in Figs. 1 and 2 so far as the upper portion of thedevice is concerned. The knee protector 34 may be adjusted on the shankin the same manner, i. e., by the construction particularly shown inFigs. 2 and 6. The leg 34 has a lower U-shaped portion 35 terminating ina fiat sole portion 36, and a pair of bifurcations 31 having apertures38 by which the leg may be frictionally held in a folded position, or aposition of use [as shown] by rivets 39.

The principal purpose of the legs shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 is tosupport the foot of the wearer off the supporting surface, or preferablyto allow the foot to barely touch the supporting surface, as shown inFig. 3.

It will be understood that the pair of legs I5 may be used in the samemanner as leg 34 is used in Fig. 3, except that leg 34 may be folded toa position against the shank. A pair of legs 34 may be used in the samemanner that the legs [6 are used in Fig. 1, and in this instance, theapertures 38 will extend at right angles to the holes shown in Fig. 5.

It will be understood, of course, that instead of having the slot andbolt shown in Fig. 6, other adjusting means may be provided. This maytake the form of a pair of slots in the tongue and shank respectively;or a slot in the shank and a hole in the tongue or a series of holes inone of these members and a single hole or slot in the other throughwhich the bolt may extend.

It is to be understood that the above description and drawings aremerely illustrative, and in no wise limiting and that I desire toinclude within this invention such modifications as are comprehendedwithin the scope of the appended claims.

. I claim:

1. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to the front portion of the workmans leg, means forsupporting the lower end of said shank comprising a shank leg, a kneeprotector having a tongue and adjustment means for adjustably attachingsaid knee protector to said shank, a pair of spaced plates on said shankbetween which said tongue passes said adjustment means including meansextending through said shank and tongue.

2. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to the-front portion of the workmans leg, means forsupporting the lower end of said shank comprising a shank leg, a kneeprotector and adjustment means for adjustably attaching said kneeprotector to said shank, said knee protector having an integral tongue,a pair of spaced guide plates on said shank, a slot in said tongue, saidadjustment means including a member extending through said shank andtongue and located between said plates.

7 3. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to a workmans leg, at least one shank leg forsupporting the lower end of said shank and for maintaining the lowerportion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hangdownwardly from the leg in a natural position, a knee protector andmeans for adjustably attaching said knee protector to said shank.

4. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to a workmans leg, at least one shank leg forsupporting the lower end of said shank and for maintaining the lowerportion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hangdownwardly from the leg in a natural position, a knee protector andmeans for adjustably attaching said knee protector to said shank, saidadjustably attaching means including a tongue member integral with saidprotector, said shank having guide means through which said tongueextends.

5. A device of the character described for supporting a workmans legwhen in kneeling position comprising a shank, means for detachablysecuring said shank to a workmans leg, at least one shank leg forsupporting the lower end of said shank and for maintaining the lowerportion of the leg elevated so that the foot of the wearer may hangdownwardly from the leg in a natural position, a knee protector andmeans for adjustably attaching said knee protector to said shank, saidadjustably attaching means including a tongue member integral with saidprotector and having a slot therein, an opening in said shank and boltmeans extending through said slot and opening.

ROBERT O. FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 554,776 Davis et a1 Feb. 18, 18961,131,816 Bassett Mar. 16, 1915 2,432,565 Ferguson Dec. 16, 19472,460,895 Meany Feb. 8, 1949 2,484,494 Ferguson Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 49,457 Germany Nov. 4, 1889

